Naruto the Kitsune
by Pencyke
Summary: AU If Naruto had met the Kyuubi on his fifth birthday and were friends from the beginning. Strong Naruto. Currently no shipping but may eventually put some in. Will add characters as they relevantly appear.
1. Chapter 1

It was his fifth birthday, and the fifth anniversary of the day Minato Namekaze, the forth hokage, sealed the Kyuubi no Kitsune into a certain blond newborn. It was this of celebration that Naruto Uzumaki feared for his life. He had been kicked out of the orphanage just that morning by one of the 'Kyuubi abolitionists', for no reason apparent to the young child.

But this was no shocker for him. He knew that he was hated by the adults, and that they would do anything shy of killing him to make his life a living hell. These 'Kyuubi abolitionists' as they had taken to calling themselves, would refuse Naruto food, clothing, compassion, and any sort of services above the bare-minimum. They would yell and throw rocks. Sometimes on his birthday they'd get in a group and use their fists to, in their words, 'teach the demon brat a lesson'.

Naruto was forced to scrounge for leftovers when it came to everything he owned, the result being that he didn't have any sort of nice things at all. Sadly in these circumstances that can be considered a blessing in disguise because when he was kicked out of the orphanage there was nothing to be thrown out, short of Naruto himself.

Currently a crowd of drunken Kyuubi Abolitionists were on a fox hunt. That was why the sapphire eyed boy had taken refuge in a trash heap. It was because the villagers of Konohagakure failed to see the difference between Naruto and the demon that was sealed in his belly, but the young blond didn't know that. All he knew was that everyone hated him and he didn't know why.

He listened to the villagers passing by as they drunkenly searched for him. They were saying things like, "When I find that demon I'm gonna wring his neck!" or "That fox is gonna pay for what he did to us!" or even "Sasha! I will avenge you, my dear!"

'Why do they want to hurt me? Why do they only treat me like this? What did I ever do to them?' Naruto shed silent tears for himself as he thought in self pity. He didn't get too far though, because one of the villagers in their drunken stupor had fallen and knocked down the trash heap, and by extent revealed Naruto's hiding spot. They starred at each other for a moment, wet sapphire eyes bore into dark drunken orbs. The man was the one to recover first, shouting "Hey! I found the demon fox! He's been hiding in this trash heap!"

That shout had knocked Naruto out of his own stunned surprise. He turned and ran as fast as he could to find a new hiding spot. But now the adults were on his tail and gaining quickly. They were making their presence known as well, letting loose howls of "The chase is on!" and "Get back here you demon fox!"

The noise of the initial drunks had attracted others and soon the group tailing the poor boy had quadrupled in size. They were almost on top of him now, grabbing at his already torn and ripped cloths in an attempt to drag him into the waiting onslaught. Naruto did everything he could think of to try to escape, he zigged and he zagged, he wiggled and he wobbled, he even jumped through windows and tipped some barrels. But the villagers were relentless in their chase, always more and more popping up everywhere. It was like fighting a colony of insects, they swarmed him.

Naruto was finally caught when he jumped out of the window of some convenience store and what seemed like a third of the entire adult civilian population came at him in every direction. Wide eyed he looked for any sort of escape route, but found none as the villagers had formed a ring around ham and were quickly closing in. So in a last ditch effort Naruto shouted "If you think I'll just lay down and let you beat me up you've got ANOTHER THING COMING!" and ran to the closest man in the ring and kicked him in the shin as hard as he could.

"Ow! The demon brat has turned violent! Get him!" And with that every adult present let loose a deafening war cry as they rushed in.

At that moment everything seemed to stop for Naruto as he realized the gravity of his actions. But just couldn't bring himself to feel concern for his own wellbeing, 'Nobody else cares, why should I?' Never in a thousand years would Naruto even dream of receiving a response. **"You're wrong, Kit. I care."**

With that Naruto was drawn into the recesses of his mind leaving his body to drop to the ground.

* * *

_Naruto's mindscape_

For Naruto the change in scenery was both sudden and disorienting. One moment he was about to fight to the death against the civilians of the village, the next he was in front of some kind of huge cage. "W-what is this place?"He called out to no one in particular.

From the pitch black behind the cage a pair of blood red slited eyes three times the size of him opened and gazed at him, **"We are within your subconscious, Kit. Currently those vengeful villagers are ravaging at your unattended body, so we'll have to make this quick. My name is Kurama and I'd like to be your friend." **Naruto was stunned at the sudden proposition, it happened so fast that the only thing that he understood was that whatever it was behind these bars with the kanji for seal wanted to be his friend. **"Huh? Why are you crying? Does the prospect of being friends with me really make you that sad?"**

"No, you misunderstand Kurama.*sniff* You see I've never had a friend before, and I'm just so happy." Humans and their emotional reactions really boggled Kurama sometimes, of course he'd never admit that but they still did. With the acceptance of his friendship Kurama began initiating his plan, **"It's obvious that you won't be able to survive this on your own so my first action as your friend will be to help you out a bit. After all, that is what friends do, right? They help each other." **And with that Naruto was wished back into the physical world.

* * *

_The real world_

The civilians had been pounding away at Naruto's unmoving body when they froze from the amount of killing intent that suddenly fell upon the area. As they all watched in terror Naruto rose from the pool of his own blood, his wounds healing right in front of their eyes. Slowly, ever so slowly, he turned to gaze at everyone present with his blood red eyes, the civilians who were gathered to kill him, the ANBU who were watching from the roofs of the surrounding shops, and the passers by who chose to do nothing.

Then he walked off with the parting words, "It isn't worth the effort." The civilians, scared shitless, parted their ranks to allow the 'Demon Brat' passage through. Except for one man. It was one of the many blacksmiths of Konoha who sneered and blocked the young boy's path, "Not worth the effort? Not worth the effort?! I'm not going to let some demon brat disrespect me like that!" The blacksmith yelled and swung his large fist at the young boy's head.

For Naruto the world was moving in slow motion, he watched the large man's sweaty fist make it's way at him. The blond smiled to himself as he stopped the blacksmiths burly fist with his pinky finger. He removed the obstacle by striking the man's midsection with both hands. The surly blacksmith flew past the crowd and into the side of a building from the force of Naruto's attack. As the villagers moved the blacksmith to the nearby hospital Naruto heard them all saying something along the lines of "The demon brat has a dojutsu/kekkei genkai?"

'Dojutsu? What the heck is that?' As Naruto wondered what the previously murderous villagers had meant his nose picked up a delicious scent off of the slight breeze, following his nose halfway across the village he found himself standing in front of some sort of food stand. Naruto took the seat next to the black haired boy with the green vest who was already there and kept his head down. "What can I getcha, son?" Naruto was surprised at how the chef acted right off the bat. Shaking his head Naruto stood on his chair to get a look at what the man was cooking. "Um, what's that?" He pointed to the pan at which the heavenly scent was wafting from. The man chuckled and said, "That is a pan of miso ramen."

"Uh, I'll have some of that." Naruto then put down most of the money he had found among the discarded belongings that he often went through. The man shook his head, smiling "Oh no, the first bowl is always free for new customers." Naruto lifted up his head to gaze into the man's eyes, "Really?"When the man nodded Naruto smiled brightly "Oh thank you sir! Thank you thank you!" The man nodded as he began preparing the food, "No problem, kid. Say, what's up with your eyes? I've never seen anything like that."

Naruto figured that since the man had been nice so far that he'd tell the truth, "I'm not sure, when the large group of civilians who tried to kill me were walking of I heard them saying something about a dojutsu or a kekkei genkai or something." The other person at the ramen stand's hand made an almost invisible twitch as he paused while in the middle of lifting the noodles to his mouth, "Why were they after you?" Naruto shrugged, "I haven't the slightest clue! But they come after me in large mobs like that every year on this day. and to think, people are supposed to be nice to you on your birthday."

The girl who had been silent the entire time looked at Naruto questioningly "Today's your birthday?" Naruto nodded as he finished off his bowl of the nectar of the gods. "Um, what's your name?"

"Naruto."

"Like one of these?" She held up one of the ramen toppings, it was basically a white disc with a red swirl. Naruto looked at it with a puzzled expression in his crimson eyes "Is that what that is called?" The girl nodded "Then I guess it is like that." The four of them collectively chuckled at the similarity, "Well then Naruto, happy birthday." Then she turned to the chef "Hey dad, can Naruto have another free bowl? Ya'know, since it's his birthday?" The man now identified as the girl's father nodded with a smile, "I don't see why not Ayame." The older boy then reached behind him into a pouch on his belt and handed Naruto a kunai "Yes, happy birthday Naruto. From me to you."

"Thank you, thank you all!" Then suddenly a thought stuck Naruto "I haven't heard your guy's names yet." The other two males looked at each other and then Ayame's dad placed a second bowl of ramen in front of the young blond "I'm Teuchi and this here is Itachi!" Naruto nodded as he dug into the meal, not knowing when he'd be able to eat fresh food again he downed that second bowl in ten seconds flat. That was when Teuchi noticed the sky "It's that time of night again already, huh? Sorry guys, Ayame and I've gotta pack up the shop so it's time for the two of you to go to your homes." The two boys nodded and left in opposite directions.

As Naruto walked through the silent streets he heard the voice of his first friend. **"I think that it is time for you to receive _my_ birthday gift,** **Naruto." **The blond looked around him to try to see where his friend was hiding, "Where are you hiding?" Naruto heard Kurama chuckling and wondered where his enormous friend was hiding. "**I am inside your subconscious my friend, and to talk to me you need only use your thoughts. I think you'll find it ****useful to not have the general populous think you're insane as well as other things." **Naruto continued his walk to nowhere in particular 'So you can hear my thoughts?'

**"Each and every one of them." **The young boy put his hands behind his head and smiled broadly 'That's. So. Awesome! So, what's your gift?' The Kyuubi smiled inwardly at the boy's enthusiasm **"To ****receive my gift you must first go to someplace solitary with minimum chance of others eavesdropping on you." **With that being all the incentive the young boy needed, Naruto sped off towards the first place that came to his mind. It was a place that he'd never seen anyone go into or come out of, it was a large forest surrounded by a large fence labeled with the number 44. 'How's this place?' Kurama was silent while inspecting the area **"Perfect****…"**


	2. Chapter 2

With the Kyuubi's approval of the area, Naruto hopped the large fence and made his way inside training ground 44, also known as the forest of death. As he picked his way past the trees and bushes Naruto made conversation with the kyuubi. 'So… What're you gonna give me?' Naruto figured he might as well try to weasel some information out of the friend in his subconscious. **"I suppose that now that we're here it's okay to tell you. As my gift to you, Naruto, I will train you so that you won't need to rely on my power. Which I might add, if I give you more of my chakra than you can handle at any given point there will be various ****repercussions that could happen. One of which is death, but that's really rare." **Naruto gulped as he crawled through some bushes, 'D-d-death?' Kurama rolled his eyes, **"Yes, death. But like I said it's a very small possibility. Also, the amount of chakra that I can give you without repercussions is dependent on your own chakra ****reserves. Ah, this looks like a good spot. We shall train here."**

It was a pretty open clearing, it was next to a river and the tree line was far enough away to not hide any predators but close enough to hide in in case of an emergency. But that was what Kurama was thinking about, Naruto on the other hand was marveling at the natural beauty of the clearing, how the water sparkled as the fish swam past, the sounds of nature all around him, the tall trees filled with life, and best of all, no one to push him away, no one to treat him like garbage, no one to throw rocks at him just because he was passing by. Absently Naruto mumbled to himself, "Why didn't I come here before?" Kurama decided to leave the boy's question unanswered **"Does that really matter?"****  
**

"I guess you're right, Kurama. Hey, when are we gonna get started training? I'm dying to know!"

**"Hold your horses, Naruto, before we get started I'll need transfer my knowledge of survival in the forest to you. Wouldn't want you to die of starvation a week into your training." **The young blond tilted his head "How are you gonna do th-" The boy's sentence was cut off by him falling to the ground, unconscious.

* * *

As Naruto returned to consciousness he tested each of his senses one at a time. He started by wiggling each of the digits on his hands and feet feeling something pokey pressing on his arms and back through his ripped shirt. He felt a bit cold, but not so much that he shivered. Breathing deeply through his nose Naruto picked up on a plethora of scents, many of which he couldn't identify. Some of the ones the boy could put a name to were wood, leaves, grass, water, and dirt. There were other things too, some that smelled sweet, some that smelled musky, and others that just smelled weird. From listening, Naruto heard flapping from far away as well as dead leaves crunching under something's feet. There was also the tiny trickle of flowing water and the buzzing of bugs attempting to survive, some being more successful than others.

Licking his lips, Naruto forced his eyes wide open and the first thing he saw was the sun in the middle of his view turning his retinas into charcoal. Naruto shut his eyes tight and massaged his eyelids with the palms of his hands and sat up before sitting up and slowly allowing for his eyes to adjust to the bright light. Silently he slinked to the stream nearby and used the cold water to wash the sleep from his eyes, next Naruto stalked into some bushes in search for some edible plants for breakfast. Finding all the plants in the immediate area to be poisonous in one way or another he turned to collecting bugs for breakfast.

When that thought crossed Naruto's mind he slapped himself. Hard. All birds in the vicinity had been startled into taking flight. "What am I doing? Why would I even want to eat bugs?" The boy then got on his hands and knees and yelled "What! Is! Wrong! With! Me!" He reinforced each word of his question by slamming his forehead on the ground. Luckily Kurama provided an explanation for the boy's previous actions **"Calm down Naruto! It's just the survival information that I transferred to you while you were sleeping that was making you act like that. Because you need food to survive."****  
**

"Aren't there fish in this river? Why can't I just eat them?" The demon sealed inside of Naruto just sighed before relenting, **"If you think you can catch yourself a scaled breakfast then be my guest." **Naruto nodded as he slowly crept up to the edge of the river. At the edge of the river he stared into the water, silently watching the fish go by. As he got ready to pounce, Naruto caught his reflection and was startled to see himself with two blood red slighted eyes. "H-hey K-k-kurama, w-what's up with m-m-m-my eyes?" catching on to the boy's stutter the fox spoke to ease Naruto's conscience **"There is no need to worry Kit, that's just a harmless side effect of having my chakra flowing through you." **Naruto heaved a sigh of relief "It just startled me and I wanted to know what had happened."

Kurama gave an unconvinced **"Mmhmm." **So Naruto decided to throw in a compliment "And besides, don't you think I look awesome with eyes like these?" In Naruto's mindscape the kitsune nodded, **"While I appreciate the acknowledgement you should focus on obtaining your ****sustenance." **This time it was Naruto's turn to nod, "You're right! The sooner I eat the sooner I can get stronger!"

**"Be quiet! You'll scare all the fish away." **Naruto smiled with his teeth and rubbed the back of his head saying "Sorry Kurama." And then he went back to watching and waiting. When a plump looking specimen was passing the bank Naruto thrusted his hands into the water just in front of where the fish was headed and scooped his hands under and flung the fish out of the water and over his head. As it came down Naruto grabbed at his breakfast as hard as his five year old hands could, sadly this just squeezed the fish out of his hands and back into the water.

Naruto hung his head in shame "I was so close…" It was good that Naruto had a friend to comfort him. **"That was a good first try, though next time I suggest having something ready to skewer the fish on as it's falling. That way you won't have to deal with the slippery scales thwarting your efforts.****" **With that small amount of encouragement the young boy perked up almost immediately "Hey, that's a good idea! I can use that kunai that Itachi gave me! Thanks Kurama!" And with that he went back at it with an enormous amount of gusto.

* * *

_30 minutes later_

Naruto leaned against a tree patting his stomach as he spoke to the friend inside him, "Wow Kurama, if it wasn't for you I wouldn't have been able to catch those fish not to mention make them edible. You're a great friend." While that did bring a smile to Kurama's face he would have to reveal a more demanding side of himself for what was to come next **"I do appreciate the compliment Naruto, but from here on out I will be training you in the shinobi arts so now you've got to call me sensei."**

"Ooh! The training is starting? What's first Kuram- I mean sensei?" The boy was so excited he couldn't sit still, he was almost vibrating where he sat. **"Do you see that tower in the distance?" **Naruto nodded **"Run to it without stopping or being killed."**

"Ha! That's too easy! It doesn't even look that far away!" Naruto momentarily halted his boasting as a thought stuck him "Wait, what do you mean with-"

**"DID I SAY TO STAND AND TALK? RUN!" **Kurama roared out with enough force to give his holder a migraine "Agh! Okay! Okay! I'm running! I'm running!" With that Naruto took off at a sprint alongside the river toward the large tower in the center of the forest. Surprisingly the boy maintained the sprint for an extended period of time, though for him it felt like he only covered a short distance.

Then a giant centipede rose out of the ground with the intent to have Naruto for brunch. Luckily he tripped and fell just short of where it had struck, the small crater it left in the ground was more than enough incentive to get Naruto running again, even faster than before. And screaming.

No one actually heard the poor boy screaming for his life though because the dense forest insulated the sounds from within quite nicely. Sadly in his adrenalin rush Naruto didn't notice the tiger napping in his path, and as a result Naruto's foot collided with it's head while the rest of him toppled over into a roll on a slight decline with the now awake and angry big cat chasing after him.

Twisting his body, Naruto was able to use his momentum to quickly rise to his feet and give himself a chance to escape the awakened predator. So he bobbed and weaved and he weaved and bobbed. He slid through prickly bushes and squeezed through tangled tree roots. Finally when the cat was upon him he broke a solid piece of wood right on the striped creature's nose to get it to stop chasing him. As he came down from his adrenalin high and his jog began to resemble a shamble more than a run Naruto allowed himself a moment of respite.

That was when the leeches began to fall for they were attracted to heat and it just so happened that the young shambling blonde was radiating heat like nobody's business. The first one landed a few feet in front of him, the second bait closer to his left, the third just missed his face. This caused Naruto to look up just in time to see hundreds more falling right towards him in a large sheet.

With a cry of "Aw come on!" Naruto tucked and rolled out of the way and was back to booking it, ripping a solid portion of bark off a tree as he did so. Using the bark as a makeshift shield he did his best to deflect all the falling leeches, but hit was difficult because he had to watch both the canopy and where he was going to make sure that he could avoid things that were detrimental to his health. Things like centipedes that wanted to eat him, tigers that wanted to eat him, birds that wanted to eat him, plants that wanted to eat him, giant spiders that wanted to eat him, swarms of anything that wanted to eat him, sink holes that wanted to eat him, and trees for example.

So as Naruto broke through the tree line fending off leeches and ducking under predators it came as no surprise that he didn't notice the moat surrounding his destination. Needless to say the whiskered kid went for an unplanned dive into ice-cold water. It was a few moments before his head broke through the surface of the water with a gasp. Blinking the moat from his eyes the boy swam to the edge where he just laid there staring up into the blue sky, reveling in the fact that he was alive and still had all of his limbs. "I can't believe I actually survived that. I'm so awesome!"

**"Don't celebrate yet, kit. That was only the warm up." **At the sound of Kurama's revelation Naruto sat up in a flash and put a hand to his forehead "Eeh?!" The fox sealed inside the boy smiled inwardly at what he was going to tell the boy to do next **"Now, go into this here tower and look for some clothes, by the looks of it you'll need them before the week is over." **Naruto gave a cocky smile as he fist pumped, "Compared to that marathon of death this'll be easy!" Before Naruto could run off though, Kurama had to say one more thing **"Did I mention you have to walk on your hands until you find new attire to wear?" **Naruto bumped his forehead in self disappointment "I should'a known there was gonna be a catch."

And so the rest of Naruto's day was filled with getting on his hands and falling down around the tower in search of apparel to replace the scraps he was wearing. At the beginning he would get on his hands and knees and swing his legs over his head but he'd put too much force and he'd only get five 'steps' before toppling onto his back. By the time the sun was just kissing the horizon the young boy had become a master of walking on his hands. It was well into the night, when Naruto was ready to drop out of exhaustion, when he struck the metaphorical gold. It was a storage room filled to the brim with boxes of ninja equipment.

There were kunai, shuriken, sandals, chain mail vests, standard black ninja pants and shirts, paper bombs, sealing scrolls, metal plated gloves, cloth face masks, ninja wire, pouches, belts, smoke bombs, and bandages. While Naruto was searching through the boxes and grabbing everything that Kurama directed him to he came across a snow white mask with black eye holes, a red line in the shape of a wide smile, and some sort of kanji in the middle of it's forehead. Upon questioning Kurama told his container that it was the kanji fore death on the forehead. With a nod Naruto decided to keep the mask as well.

With the demon fox's help and instruction, Naruto sealed everything that he wouldn't be wearing into some of the sealing scrolls and kept some others blank for future use.

Too tired to cheer, Naruto happily trudged down to one of the many rooms that he'd searched. It was a painted a plain beige color and had only a nightstand and a bed without blankets. Closing the door behind himself, Naruto let out a sigh and flopped onto the bed. Rolling over to look at the barren ceiling a thought struck the young boy, "Hey, Kurama sensei?" The young blond's inner friend responded almost immediately **"What is it, kit?" **Naruto hesitated for a moment, not knowing if he was about to breach a delicate subject and instead of just saying it tried to stall to get his thoughts in order "Uh, I just wanted to ask you a question…" The Kyuubi, not known for being the most patient of the biju was not a fan of stalling **"Then spit it out." **Gulping, the boy nodded and voiced his question "Um, not that I'm ungrateful or anything but, I was wondering… How did you end up in my subcontinent?"

**"Two things. One, it's subconscious. And two, I was sealed into you on the day you were born." **Naruto rubbed his chin and 'Aah'ed in understanding "So, it's like how we put all that stuff in those tiny scrolls. But if you're sealed inside me, then does that mean you're inside me all the time?" Naruto felt the being nod mentally and continued "Then it must feel like you're trapped…" Upon catching Naruto's sad tone Kurama tried to make him feel better **"It is not your fault that I am imprisoned within you, it is my own." **With a sniff Naruto inquired about what his friend meant **"I was sealed into you because I let my rage and anger consume and ****control me. So my being in you is a form of punishment, but by helping you I can try to fix my mistake." **Naruto sniffed "So, you're in prison for getting to angry?"

**"That is an extremely simplified way to put it, but yes that is correct." **Naruto nodded again, this time with a frown "That sounds unfair, everybody gets really angry at some point or another. No one should have to go to jail for getting angry!" Kurama felt touched by the boy's words and was about to say something when Naruto continued "I'm gonna break you out of prison Kurama! I promise you!" The fox chuckled at the boy's antics and decided to humor him **"If you want to brake the seal and let me out, you'll need to become one of the most powerful shinobi ever, which means you'll need to train ten times harder to even get a chance at it." **As Naruto began to drift into the world of dreams he said "Don't worry Kurama, I always keep my promises…"

**"I know, kit. I know."**


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Hi everybody! I'm just gonna answer some questions and then we'll get back to the story

To **DLTA811** :While there was a spike in the Kyuubi's chakra it was hardly enough to reach all the way to the hokage tower.

To **ThaMercenary **:At this point Naruto can only use a portion of the power supplied in the chakra cloak without side effects, this doesn't mean that he can't use the chakra cloak ;) Also Kurama is in fact a male in this fic.

Now then, let's get to the story!

* * *

_5 and a half months later_

It was a day like any other for Naruto. He was woken up before the sun by an energetic Kurama sensei, he took a survival sprint through most of the forest (while wearing weights he'd found) as a warm up, then Kurama sensei would make him do chakra control exercises because, in Kurama sensei's words 'Chakra control is everything. If you can control your chakra like you control your hand then jutsus become obsolete to the versatility of pure chakra manipulation.' At this point walking on vertical surfaces and water were second nature for him, so Kurama sensei had Naruto focusing on using his chakra to enhance his senses and attributes. After that Naruto went on a hunt for his lunch.

It was while he was hunting that something new happened. There was an actual person in the forest. Curious as to why anyone would come into his forest, Naruto hunkered down in a bush and stealthily watched what the person was doing.

It was a boy with raven black hair. He wore a green vest and by all appearances was a ninja. His back was turned as it appeared he was hiding something in a tree hollow. As Naruto moved to get into a better position to see what it was the ninja was hiding, the boy suddenly disappeared. Looking around focusing chakra to his ears and nose Naruto was about to say something to his sensei when he heard the whistling of a kunai flying through the air, specifically at him. With ease the kyuubi jinchuriki whipped out a kunai of his own to deflect the potentially dangerous projectile.

Then he heard a cold calm voice behind him, "Who are you and what are you doing here?" Hopping a good distance away Naruto turned to see who it was he was dealing with. It just so happened to be none other than the same Itachi Uchiha that had gifted Naruto with his very first kunai on his birthday. It pained Naruto that Itachi didn't remember him and it showed in his voice "You, don't remember me?" That was when Kurama decided to point out a slightly important fact **"Kit. You're still wearing your mask."**

The Uchiha prodigy was about to answer when the masked kid bonked himself on the head and pulled off the white face to reveal the whiskered cheeks and sapphire blue eyes underneath. "I guess it would be hard to remember a face that's under a mask." On the inside Itachi was shocked to say the least, the boy that the third hokage had search parties all over looking for him had been here in the forest of death the whole time! Of course the raven haired boy's undying poker face prevented those feelings from surfacing and being seen. "Once again I ask, why are you here?"

"Hm me? I'm training how 'bout you?" Anyone but the most patient of people would have been irked by the boy's nonchalance, consequently Itachi was one such person. "I am preparing for the upcoming chunnin exams which will for the most part be taking place here in training ground 44, so I must ask you to leave and see the hokage." Naruto was partially stunned 'W-what does that old fart want with me?' Kurama also showed concern **"I do not know, and that worries me. Tread carefully, Naruto." **Seeing Naruto's horrified expression, Itachi tried to put the boy's mind to rest "Do not despair, Naruto. The Hokage does not wish to execute you." When the whiskered blond heard Itachi's attempt at reassurance he spoke dejectedly, "You know that's not very reassuring, right?" With his failed eminent Itachi decided that incentive would work better than emotional support to get the boy to go to the hokage "If you get to the hokage within the next five minutes I'll take you out for ramen."

"FIve minutes? That's easier than cake!" Giving the Uchiha prodigy a thumbs up as he put his white mask back on Naruto sped off with a cry of "I'll do it in one!" leaving nothing but his echo (and fifty pound arm/leg weights) behind.

The masked blond shot through the village looked like a black and gold blur to any civilian or genin onlookers. While Naruto was flipping off of buildings, running on walls, and jumping along rooftops some ANBU got in his way and tried to stop him. In response to these attempts Naruto would focus chakra into his legs and double his speed and, using the element of surprise, slipped past them.

At his chakra enhanced brake neck speed, It took Naruto only moments to reach the Hokage tower from were the ANBU tried to stop him. Without missing a beat, the masked boy hopped on the wall and sprinted up to the largest window in the side of the building which belonged to the hokage's office. Knocking on the window three times before sliding it open Naruto slipped in and took the seat across from the Hokage.

The old man looked up from his mortal enemy (paperwork) and raised and eyebrow at the masked figure "If you didn't want to assassinate me you should have used the door." It pained Naruto that the old man didn't remember him and it showed in his voice "You, don't remember me?" That was when Kurama decided to point out a slightly important fact **"Kit. You're still wearing your mask."**

The hokage was about to answer when the masked kid bonked himself on the head and pulled off the white face to reveal the whiskered cheeks and sapphire blue eyes underneath. "I guess it would be hard to remember a face that's underneath a mask." The hokage was shocked "Naruto? Where have you been? I've had search parties out looking for you you know!" While hokage was scolding him Naruto put his hands behind his head and kicked back his chair "Yeah yeah, what do you want Old Man?" Across from him, Sarutobi sweat dropped at the thought that the kyuubi jinchuriki was still calling him by the name 'old man'. Clearing his throat the hokage told Naruto of what he'd done for him "Well Naruto, you should be happy to know that I have enrolled you in the ninja academy."

Naruto shrugged nonchalantly, "That's cool, thanks." Sighing at the boy's disrespect, the third hokage continued "I'll also have you know that I have procured a living space for you that I will be paying for personally." Naruto raised his brow and repeated his response. "That's cool, thanks." The hokage just laughed at the boy's attitude and said "Come Naruto, let me show you to your new home."

Naruto hopped up and started heading to the door "All right old man, let's get going." With a smile, Sarutobi led Naruto out of hokage tower and through the streets of Konoha, all the while telling him about what he missed in the five and a half months that he was missing and at the same time trying to find out where it was he'd actually disappeared to. Naruto, at Kurama's suggestion, deflected any prodding as to the location he had trained at and about the training itself.

On the way to Naruto's new apartment the hokage showed him to the academy saying something along the lines of "The academy training started three months ago, so I want you to show up bright and early each and every day to make up for the lessons you missed. Okay, Naruto?" To which Naruto replied "You don't need to worry about me not working' hard. Believe it!" The third hokage just smiled and said "Don't you worry Naruto, I do." For the rest of the trip Sarutobi explained the rules and regulations of the academy to Naruto who made a mental list with Kurama of which ones to brake and when.

Finally after a long and slow walk, the two arrived at an average looking apartment building. Kurama decided to make a comment about it to Naruto **"This place looks cheap, no wonder old red hat is paying for it." **Naruto silently agreed 'This place is definitely nothing special, but I'm not in a position to turn down charity.' Nodding slightly the young blond turned his shining blue eyes to the old man that led him to his living space "Thanks old man. Now I just need to know my room number and I'll be out of your hair." The hokage shook his head and smiled "Ever the impatient one aren't you? You've got the entire top floor. Hmm? Naruto?" Sarutobi looked around to see a dust cloud where Naruto was standing. Shaking his head the hokage just walked away with a smile mumbling to himself "I shouldn't be surprised that has so much energy, yet I always am. I must be getting old."

* * *

_Naruto's apartment_

Closing the door behind himself Naruto surveyed one of the five living spaces on the top floor of the building. The bare walls were a painted a plain dark blue, only the minimum amount of furniture was present. One bed, one chair, one table spread out through out the whole apartment. There wasn't even a couch. Checking the cabinets, Naruto found them fully stocked and functional "I guess the old man does come through sometimes." Right after those words left the blond's mouth he saw the absence of all cookware, save for a single wok, plate, and chopstick "…I take it back, he's a complete disappointment." In Naruto's subconscious Kurama snickered **"That's what you get for expecting more than a half assed job from him. You get letdown." **Naruto nodded "I guess I shouldn't expect much from anyone but us, huh. Well, it's not like we're gonna be spending much time here anyway so it doesn't really matter."

Finding that the water, gas, and electricity were working, Naruto made his way to the bedroom. Casually looking out of one of the windows the boy caught sight of an ANBU watching him. Resolving to get some blinds, Naruto face planted into the mattress that would serve as his bed. Heaving a sigh Naruto rolled over and kipped up into a standing position. "I've no reason to be here right now, let's go train Kurama."

Naruto casually walked out the door and after locking it behind him did a handstand and 'walked' off to find a new place to train since his forest was being used for the chunin exams. Whatever those were. As Naruto made his way though the village he received a mixed variety of reactions, some people were surprised to see him back, others were trying to contain laughter, different people (which Naruto avoided) tried to get in his way and start a fight with him, while a whole different set were simply sending various types of glares at him. There was one person though who actually spoke to him.

"Kid's you're age should be in school instead of out and about in the village at this hour." Naruto kept doing his hand walk and looked up at the guy keeping pace with him "I just got back so I'm starting tomorrow." The man rubbed his chin and smiled. The boy didn't like his smile "Where'd you get back from, kid?" Naruto frowned and slightly increased his "None of your business."

The man nodded and matched speeds with the young blond "I see. Say, It doesn't look like the people around here like you very much. Is there a reason for that." Before Naruto replied Kurama felt the need to say something **"Do not trust this man, he smells of fear. And blood." **Focusing chakra into his nose Naruto sniffed the air and agreed with the entity locked inside him 'You're right as usual Kurama sensei.'

"Struck a chord did I?" The shady man seemed to take Naruto's non-answer as a yes "Well, I can take you away from this place, if you want. Just follow me and I'll take you to a place where you'll never see any of their disapproving faces ever again." Naruto decided to go with the act and sounded sad as he sniffed again "R-really? I'd love to go to a place like that. What's it like?" The suspicious man lead Naruto into a dark and rarely used alley before continuing "It's a place where people are bought and sold all the time, kid."

Behind the man Naruto said "Heh. Didn't your mother ever tell you not to talk to strangers?" While the man was talking Naruto had stood up and placed his mask on his face. It kind of unnerved the man how this kid could face a situation like this with such a calm voice. The white mask that seemed to be smiling at him maliciously didn't help either.

The masked kid heard something swinging down towards him from the side. Whirling around Naruto smashed his heel into the gut of the accomplice that tried to ambush him. A wooden plank dropped to the dirt as the purple haired woman coughed up blood and shook in pain. "WHY YOU LITTLE-" Both the man's yell and charge were interrupted as the masked blond kneed him in the chin. While the slaver was suspended in the air Naruto arced his foot over his head into the man's ribcage and sent him into the alley's brick wall.

Landing gracefully Naruto took one look at the scene and called out "You know, I can smell you hiding behind that pole." Leaning his head to the side to dodge a kunai, Naruto turned around to face the third member of the enemy party. This one wore a mask and a blank headband with a slash through the middle. They were easily two and a half heads taller than the boy and similarly garbed in all black ninja gear. When he spoke, it sounded both dark and grave "Who are you, Death-kun?"

For Kurama it felt like too good and opportunity to miss, so he had Naruto say "I'm sure you can come up with a name befitting me when you report to your higher-ups. Take your fallen comrades and leave." With that Naruto brushed past the ninja while stealthily placing a paper bomb on a wall near where they were standing. Stunned the rogue just stared at the back of Naruto's blond head who, like a badass, didn't even flinch when the bomb exploded and instead kept walking away at a leisurely pace.

He only removed his mask after walking a fair distance away and turning a corner. 'Hey Kurama, do you think that faker died?' With a smile Kurama replied **"Who knows, Kit."**


End file.
